Houston Fire Department Appoints First Black Woman Fire Marshal

The appointment to fire marshal was not the first time Marion Spann made history in the department, in 2000, Spann became the first Black woman to be named an engineer operator.

The Houston Fire Department made history when its Fire Chief named Marion Spann, a Black woman who was previously the department’s assistant chief over recruitment, its new fire marshal.

According to The Houston Chronicle, Spann learned about her historic appointment from HFD Fire Chief Thomas Muñoz during the week of Nov. 8.

In Muñoz’s statement announcing Spann’s appointment, he called attention to her qualifications for the role.

“When Mayor John Whitmire appointed me as fire chief, he told me to make sure we have the right people in the right place to protect citizens and care for our firefighters,” Muñoz said. “Chief Spann has the experience and credentials to get the job done. Her time as an inspector and her leadership and team development will serve this city well.”

As the news circulated among her family and friends, the 63-year-old Spann thought of her late mother, Myrtle Williams, and her church network.

“Mom’s church people would have found out first (before the announcement),” Spann told the Chronicle. I never had to worry about telling anyone anything because she would call and tell everybody after every promotion or new position. Mom was very proud of her daughter, and she would have been ecstatic now.”

Spann started at the department in 1994 after a friend who was working there suggested that she join. Spann left her job in the oil and gas industry and soon discovered that she enjoyed being a firefighter.

“I really liked being a firefighter, being at the station and the camaraderie, and when I joined, I wasn’t thinking about becoming the fire marshal,” Spann said.

Spann’s appointment as fire marshal was not the first time she made history in the department; in 2000, she became the first Black woman to be named an engineer operator.

Spann, who has an Executive Master of Public Administration degree from Texas Southern University, will oversee the Arson Bureau, which investigates crimes related to arson, and the HFD’s Life Safety Bureau, which deals with inspections, education, enforcement, and development of the city’s fire code.

Spann sees her new role as a natural progression of her career in fire safety and told the Chronicle that it is her goal to make buildings and homes as safe as she can under the fire code.

“It’s good to know that when you leave a building and they are up to code, that it’s as safe as it could possibly be without human error,” Spann said. “Our goal is to make sure that those places — especially schools and where people sleep — are as safe as possible. This is what you work for. I found the best career ever.”